AFL and Essendon club legend James Hird has thrown his support behind the female soccer players at Port Melbourne Soccer Club after their involvement in the 2023 Women’s World Cup was ripped out from beneath them.
Less than six months after being selected by FIFA as one of 13 official training venues for the tournament, Port Melbourne SC was surprised and devastated to learn that City of Port Phillip council had withdrawn the site.
A planned upgrade to facilities at the JL Murphy soccer pitch as part of FIFA’s legacy investment in women’s football was agreed to by the council, only to be reneged this week, a decision described as “heartbreaking” by Sharks player Gabrielle Vittori.
The club would have required upgrades to the pitch and facilities in order to meet FIFA training site standards.(Getty Images: Michael Dodge)
“They signed an agreement … [but] we found out only a couple of days ago the council withdrew its support. They went directly to FIFA without contacting the club, its women, its participants, anyone,” Vittori told The Ticket.
“That’s just heartbreaking for us.”
Vittori said local community support had always been strong and following the success of England’s Lionesses at this month’s European championships there was a buzz around next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“It was magnificent, it really shone a light on how amazing women’s sport is, and to pull the funding for our venue to be a training facility is just gobsmacking for us,” she said.
“I speak on behalf of the girls I play with, my daughter’s on my team, I speak for my club and I speak for the girls and women in our municipality who are consistently overlooked by our council as a sport and as a community that wants to develop and grow.
“I’m gobsmacked by it all, I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
The council had previously celebrated the selection of its site, stating on its website that FIFA’s selection of its facilities was a “great recognition of council’s focus and support for female sport participation and a reward for our desire to improve facilities that can support inclusive opportunities” .
The sudden U-turn by the council has led others to question whether the council’s commitment was ever genuine.
Hird has been part of the Port Melbourne sport community for the past five or six years through his three sons playing there.
Former Essendon coach James Hird, whose sons (pictured) play locally, has criticized the council’s withdrawal from the site.(Getty Images: Scott Barbour)
He says the council’s decision is short-sighted.
“It’s a great community club. It’s 50 to 60 years old and a wonderful place,” he said.
“When it was announced three years ago that Port Melbourne were going to be one of the training centers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the excitement around the club was huge, and particularly for the women involved.
“Behind the Olympics, this is one of the biggest sporting events we’ve ever had in this country […] not just for the community but for the young girls and boys who can look up to these players and spark some sort of interest in the game.
“The male game is at capacity, but for women in football, the opportunities are just growing more and more. I think it’s a bit of a slap in the face, really, for not just the women but everyone, that the council have pulled their support, unknownst to the club.
“The club found out on Wednesday by chance, because the council hadn’t let them know. It’s a strange occurrence and one that everyone at the club and in the area is wondering why.”
The chief executive of Port Phillip council, Peter Smith, said in a statement to the ABC that upgrades to the ground were thought to be achievable until June this year.
“FIFA said the installation of a $500,000 drainage system on Pitch 1 was required for the grounds to remain as a training venue,” Mr Smith said.
“FIFA also required a lighting upgrade costing $120,000 and improvements to make bathroom facilities more ‘female friendly’.
Willie Rioli Senior has been remembered as a football legend and community leader, and a man whose “cheeky” smile brightened the lives of those around him.
Key points:
Around 500 people attended a memorial service in Darwin for Willie Rioli Senior
He died suddenly of a heart attack in July at age 50
Mr Rioli will also be commemorated at a burial at his home on the Tiwi Islands
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains the name and image of a person who has died.
The ABC has permission from Willie Rioli Senior’s family to use his name and image.
Hundreds of people filled the pews at St Mary’s Cathedral in Darwin on Wednesday to pay tribute to the father, grandfather, star footballer and respected leader in the Tiwi Islands community.
Mr Rioli died suddenly last month, age 50, of a heart attack, according to a statement from AFL Northern Territory.
Willie Rioli Senior died suddenly in July at the age of 50. (Supplied: Tiwi Bombers Football Club)
Northern Territory Football league (NTFL) broadcaster Dominic McCormack remembered his friend as a man with a “cheeky smile” who “brightened all our lives.”
“He always brought great energy, experience, organisation, a big smile, lots of humility and a bit of stubbornness to all he did,” Mr McCormack said in a eulogy.
He said even Mr Rioli’s opponents could not help but like him.
“It would be rare to ever hear a bad word about him,” Mr McCormack said.
“Even while he was taking [the opposite] team apart they still loved him — they just wanted him on their side.”
Proud of his children and a lifelong love story
In his younger years, Mr McCormack said Mr Rioli would sneak out of boarding school at night to visit Georgina Vigona, the woman who would remain his wife until his death.
Mr Rioli’s wife, Georgina Vigona, had been by his side for decades.(ABC News: Myles Houlbrook-Walk)
The couple raised three children: Nikita, Kathleen and West Coast Eagles premiership winner Willie Junior.
Mr Rioli is survived by his three children, two grandchildren and wife Georgina.(ABC News: Myles Houlbrook-Walk)
A Brisbane school has clinched a deal with Manchester City to train the next generation of soccer champions through a new football program.
Key points:
Manchester City will establish a football school in partnership with St Laurence’s College, south Brisbane campus
It will include the coaching philosophy and methodology of Manchester City
A Manchester City coach will be employed at the school and students can train both during and after school
English Premier League’s Manchester City has established the state’s only Manchester City Football School at St Laurence’s College.
The football school will involve coaching programs delivered by a Manchester City coach for the St Laurence’s College students, making use of the FIFA-certified artificial football pitch at the college’s South Brisbane campus.
St Laurence’s College principal Chris Leadbetter told ABC Radio Brisbane the partnership had been in the works for some time, and he had struggled to not tell the students the exciting news.
Manchester City Football School has launched at St Laurence’s College in Brisbane.(Supplied: St Laurence’s College)
“They’ll implement a program in Year 5 to 7, it will be within the curriculum and also outside school hours,” Mr Leadbetter said.
“In Year 8 to Year 12 it will be a co-curriculum program, so before and after school, at our fields at the school or at our fields at Runcorn.
Fan favorite Martin Boyle enjoyed a fairytale return to Hibernian as he came off the bench to score a late equalizer against arch-rivals Hearts in front of a full house at Easter Road.
Lawrence Shankland’s first competitive goal for the Hearts in the 21st minute looked as if it was going to be enough to secure a third Edinburgh derby victory in succession for the visitors.
But the Socceroo Boyle, who has returned just seven months after leaving in a lucrative transfer to Saudi Arabian side Al Faisaly, struck with the last kick of the game, sparking a mini pitch invasion from the jubilant home support.
Martin Boyle left it late to score an equalizer against Hearts that sent Hibernian fans wild in the stands. (Getty Images/SNS Group: Rob Casey)
Manager Lee Johnson hailed Boyle’s “Roy of the Rovers” return.
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The 29-year-old Australia international only signed for Hibs on Saturday.
And after being introduced as a 62nd-minute sub, Boyle sparked bedlam inside a packed Easter Road as he struck with the last kick of the game.
“If you wrote a comic book strip and he was the star of the show, I’m not sure you could write it better than that,” Johnson said.
“He’s buzzing, but the boys were buzzing as well when we told them yesterday (that he had signed).”
Boyle had not played for six weeks prior to his Easter Road return and Johnson admits he had to weigh up whether to include him in the squad.
“It was about 9pm last night,” he said after being asked when he knew Boyle would be eligible.
“There was a bit of deliberation about whether I should play him, from one particular key figure at the club who didn’t think I should, but I will remind him gently — very, very gently — that’s my role.”
Livingston secured their first Premiership win of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Page Oval is far from Canberra’s best-known sports arena.
But its fields are home to a football club that, for some new Canberrans, plays a much bigger role than sport does in most lives.
Key points:
Afghan refugees founded the Canberra Kangaroos in 2013
The club is playing in the ACT state leagues this year
Players face significant off-field difficulties, including uncertain futures
The Canberra Kangaroos was founded nine years ago by a group of Afghan refugees. It entered the annual refugee tournaments held around Australia.
But this year it’s gone mainstream. For the first time, the club is toughing it out in Canberra’s state league competitions.
Its secretary, Ali Ekhtyari, said that while the Afghan community began the club, it now had players from Pakistan, Brazil, South Sudan, Iraq and Iran.
“This club is based on inclusion, to prevent isolation that refugees and migrants often face,” he said.
“It’s really helpful for those migrants who don’t know what to do, how to come out of the isolation, from loneliness.
“This is a good place to be with each other.”
Pitch battles a relief compared with off-field stresses
The club began with Afghan players but is now open to all refugees.(Supplied)
Some of the club’s players face tough challenges away from football.
Goalkeeper Rohullah Hassani has a temporary visa and is fighting hard to bring his family to Australia.
“We have been separated from our family a long time, a decade now,” he said.
“It’s very hard. Every day it’s depressing and we are worried … back home, it’s not very safe, mentally we have lots of stress.
“We are just hoping for [the] new government to give us a chance to bring our family and start a life here.”
However, Mr Hassani said finding a welcoming community in Australia had softened his situation.
“I feel proud and I feel much better since I joined this club,” he said.
Retired AFL player Josh Jenkins has called for a “damning report” by a club doctor following the Adelaide Crows’ controversial 2018 camp to be made public and says he was moved on from the club for being a “problem child.”
Key points:
Josh Jenkins left the Adelaide Crows at the end of the 2019 season
He says he was moved on from the club for speaking out internally about the 2018 preseason camp
Jenkins claims details about his upbringing were used during the camp against his wishes
Jenkins has spoken publicly about the camp for the first time, backing up former teammate Eddie Betts — who has released a book this week which details the trauma he experienced as a result of the 2018 camp.
As well as outlining his own experience at the camp, Jenkins has called for the findings from a report conducted by club doctor Marc Cesana after the camp to be made public.
“No-one has ever acted on that report, which I know is damning,” Jenkins told Melbourne radio station SEN.
“The report must see the light of day. It’s the only example of a medical professional who had day-to-day dealings with the people and players who were involved. He was concerned about us.
“He expressed his disappointment to me about what happened to us, but never disclosed the details of what he’d discussed with other players.”
In a statement, the Adelaide Crows said the club was not in a position to publicly share private medical information relating to its people.
“While under investigation, the club provided the doctor’s report, without identifying individuals, to both the AFL and SafeWork SA,” it said.
Jenkins also claimed the club’s welfare manager was “iced out” of all discussions, planning and follow-up conversations regarding the camp.
Josh Jenkins says he had asked facilitators not to use information about his upbringing during the camp.(AAP: Kelly Barnes)
In detailing the events of the camp, Jenkins said he was one of 10 players and two coaches who were part of the more intensive “group one” version of the camp.
He said he had reservations about taking part in the camp and tried to get himself out of it on numerous occasions.
“I recall us going around the circle and accepting the challenge whilst a couple of players needed to be withdrawn due to injury issues, as well as one player being removed because of some personal trauma he’d recently experienced,” Jenkins said.
“Hearing he was removed because his personal trauma may be too much on top of what we were about to endure had alarm bells ringing inside my head.”
Jenkins, who was raised by his non-biological grandmother, said he provided a “supposed counsellor” with details about his childhood prior to going on the camp.
Visiting the beer capital of Belgium at least provided Rangers fans with the means to soothe their sorrows.
A performance as flat as a day-old pint hasn’t completely ended hope of reaching the Champions League for the first time since 2010. But, my goodness, something much more potent will be required from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players if they are to turn the tie around at Ibrox next Tuesday evening.
Uncertain at the back and timid in attack, this had a completely different feel to the barnstorming displays that took Rangers all the way to last season’s Europa League final.
Seventy-six days on from Seville, a damaging false start was produced in the bid to secure a £40million group stage windfall.
Union St Gilloise’s Teddu Teuma scores the opener in their 2-0 win over Rangers on Tuesday
First-leg defeat leaves Gers facing an uphill battle in their bid to qualify for Champions League
MATCH FACTS
UNION ST-GILLOISE: (3-5-2) You die; Sykes, Burgess, Van Der Heyden; Nieuwkoop, Lynen, Teuma (Gates 90+2), Lazare Amani, Lapoussin; Adingra (Ilyes 85), Vanzeir (Francois 90+2)
Subs not used: Imbrechts (GK), Pirard (GK); Boone, Dony, El Azzouzi, Huygevelde, Machida
Subs not used: McCrorie (GK), McGregor (GK); Arfield, Davis, Devine, King, Sakala
goals: None
Bookings: Sands (40), Goldson (75), Davies (79), Lawrence (90+2)
Coach: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Referee: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Venue: Joseph Marien Stadium (Belgium)
True, there was ill fortune in the ridiculously harsh handball penalty awarded against Connor Goldson following a VAR check.
But no-one could truly dispute Union Saint-Gilloise merited a two-goal first leg lead on the overall balance of play. The Belgians had numerous chances to inflict further pain.
Their opening goal, netted by Teddy Teuma midway through the first half, was dismal from a Rangers perspective. Weak defending preceded a weak attempt at a save by Jon McLaughlin.
The goalkeeper went some way too redeeming himself with a clutch of subsequent stops as Union carved their way through time after time.
This wasn’t even a proper home match for last season’s Jupiler Pro League runners-up. Union’s Stade Joseph Marien is something of a museum piece and doesn’t meet UEFA standards, hence the switch half an hour east to the UH Lueven’s Den Dreef Stadion.
Leuven is the base for numerous breweries, including a vast facility producing gallon upon gallon of Stella Artois. Reassuringly expensive was the old marketing phrase they used.
And the cost of failure here could be very high for Rangers in terms of letting slip a chance to grasp transformative revenue.
Tuesday’s play-off round draw confirmed the winners of this tie will meet either Monaco or PSV Eindhoven for a spot among the elite.
Van Bronckhorst can’t think that far, though.
Operating with a back three here simply didn’t work.
A different plan, and much more punch, will have to be summoned if Ibrox is to stage another great European night next week and not a bitter disappointment to match the loss to Malmo 12 months ago.
Teuma’s (left) first-half strike gives Union Saint-Gilloise into the lead on Tuesday evening
Teuma’s shot is too much for Rangers goalkeeper to handle, as the hosts take a first-half lead
Teuma celebrates breaking the deadlock for Union in the third qualifying round clash
The absences of Ryan Kent and John Souttar from the traveling party meant Van Bronckhorst was certain to make changes from Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win over Livingston. In the end, there were four. And a switch of formation.
Tom Lawrence and Scott Wright also dropped out, with James Sands, Ryan Jack, Rabbi Matondo and Malik Tillman promoted.
This is the first time Union have played in a continental competition since the pre-UEFA accredited days of the Fairs Cup, yet the ground was maybe only three-quarters full by time of kick-off arrived on a stickily warm evening.
Coping with events on the pitch was, of course, far more significant for Rangers. In that regard, first impressions were disappointing. They actually settled quicker.
With John Lundstram and Sands flanking Goldson at the back, Van Bronckhorst’s men established an early grip of possession against rather edgy-looking hosts.
When Siebe Van der Heyden caught Antonio Colak just outside the area, the angle demanded Borna Barisic step up. He sent the free-kick spinning towards the near post, forcing Luxembourg goalkeeper Anthony Moris to punch clear.
Dante Vanzeir (centre) doubled the lead for Union from the penalty spot in the second half
Vanzeir stepped up and calmly converted the penalty in the 76th minute of the game
Vanzeir coolly sent McLaughlin the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0 on the night
Sands then tested Moris with a crisp, left-footed strike from distance as Union tooled to find a foothold. One was soon located, though. And from there they climbed powerfully upwards.
A first hint of danger to the visiting defense came when Loic Lapoussin’s firm hit was blocked by Lundstram. Then Lazare Amani nutmegged Barisic on a surge down the right flank before sliding over a dangerous cross that was anxiously cleared.
Firmer evasive action arrived when Sands made a brilliant challenge on Dante Vanzeir to prevent the Belgium cap netting from a Simon Adingra delivery. Lapoussin had a slid a through-ball inside Lundstram to set up the opportunity. Union were on the march.
Their breakthrough arrived in the 27th minute. Aided, it must be said, by some distinctly flimsy resistance inside the Rangers area.
Jack lost a battle of wills against rival No 8 Amani, with Barisic then unable to do enough to prevent the ball being laid into the path of Teuma. His strike from him took a nick off the heel of Goldson but he still seemed to beat McLaughlin a little too easily. Shoddy stuff all round.
Just as at Livingston, Rangers were behind to a poor concession. And, once again, there was no appreciable response prior to the interval.
Rangers’ Antonio Colak buries his head into his shirt after the visitors go 2-0 down
That might have been different had Colak not lost his bearings. Tillman’s cross towards him was good but the Croatian failed to make any contact with his head. A glaring opportunity was lost.
Union very nearly exact severe punishment. Not for the first time, the Belgians were able to exploit Barisic’s area and tee up a chance. Lapoussin would have made it 2-0 but for a terrific challenge by Tavernier. The Rangers captain looked accusingly to his left of him as another mini-inquest kicked off.
Staid when advancing, the Premiership runners-up were rattled in retreat. That impression was confirmed when Sands collected a booking for clattering Amani near the halfway line.
Van Bronckhorst resisted any substitutions at the interval. And the flow of the match remained firmly towards McLaughlin.
Lapoussin headed over from Bart Nieuwkoop’s cross before the Dutch full-back clipped the outside of the post from Amani’s cutback.
On 67 minutes, the Ibrox boss turned to the introduction of £9m worth of summer business. On came Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies, off went Barisic and Jack. Lundstram stepped forward into midfield.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men face an uphill battle in qualifying for the Champions League
It didn’t make enough of a difference. McLaughlin denied Lapoussin at the near post and parried a follow-up from Vanzeir. When Teuma’s drive then came off Goldson, it led to a lengthy VAR consideration by Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto.
Given that the ball had taken a little deflection before striking Goldson’s arm at point-blank range, the award of a penalty seemed nonsensical. But Peljto had made up his mind. And Vanzeir coolly felt McLaughlin the wrong way from the spot.
The Ibrox goalkeeper then saved from the same player as he broke away looking for a third. If Rangers are going to get out of this month, that might yet provide a critical moment.
Former AFL champion Eddie Betts says his form slumped after he felt disrespected and traumatized at an Adelaide Crows preseason training trip, accusing the camp of cultural insensitivities.
Key points:
Former Crows and Carlton star Eddie Betts has released a biography
The book includes details about a controversial Crows preseason training camp in 2018
The Crows’ chief executive has apologized
Betts’s biography The Boy from Boomerang Crescent, which was released today, includes a chapter on the controversial 2018 Adelaide Crows’ preseason training camp following a devastating defeat to Richmond in the 2017 grand final.
In it, Betts describes the anxiety and anger he felt following the camp and the subsequent fallout.
AFL Players’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh said the association would contact all players who attended the 2018 camp to get a better understanding of issues that might have arisen.
In a statement, he said the association had previously spoken to players about the camp, but based on the experience detailed in Betts’s book, he now believed “players felt pressured into remaining silent.”
“The details outlined by Eddie Betts in his new book about the 2018 Adelaide Crows training camp are extremely concerning and difficult to read,” he said.
“We commend Eddie on the courage he’s shown in telling this story and are troubled by the ongoing hurt caused to Eddie and his family.”
In one example, Betts wrote how personal details he had confidentially shared with a camp counselor were used to verbally abuse him in front of teammates during a physically and emotionally grievous “initiation.”
Among the insults yelled while he “crawled through the dirt” was that the father-of-five would be a “sh** father” as he was “raised by only his mother.”
Betts, who joined the Geelong coaching team following his retirement last year, described the incident as “traumatizing” and had him “broken to tears”.
Eddie Betts returned to Carlton in 2020.(AAP: Dave Hunt)
The 350-game veteran said teammates were recruited to verbally abuse each other during the same exercise.
“I’ll live with this shame for the rest of my life,” he said.
Betts said players at the camp were prevented from showering, had to surrender their phones, and were transported blindfolded on a bus that “reeked of off food” with the Richmond theme song loudly playing on loop.
Betts details how First Nations rituals were misappropriated, which he found “extremely disrespectful”, and references to sacred Aboriginal words “were chucked around in a carefree manner”.
“When I started to talk to people around me about my experience, I started to realize that what we’d been put through was all just a bit f***** up, and I rightly became angry,” he said.
Eddie Betts with his wife Anna and five children in Darwin in November 2021.(Instagram: annascullie)
Betts said he raised his concerns with the club and asked to remove Aboriginal players from further “mind training exercises” with the company behind the camp, which continued to work with the Crows until later that year. The club “mutually agreed to part ways” with the company in June.
“Three weeks after I addressed the team about my concerns, I was told that I hadn’t been re-elected to the leadership group. I was devastated,” he wrote.
Crows chief executive Tim Silvers, who only joined the club last year, said he would investigate Betts’s claims that he had been dropped from the leadership group as a result of raising his concerns.
Silvers said he was “saddened” to read the impact the camp had had on Betts.
“It obviously hurt him in a number of ways,” he said.
Silvers described Betts as a “legend” who “lit up the Adelaide Oval for a long period of time”.
Adelaide Crows chief executive Tim Silvers apologized to Betts for his experience at the camp.(ABC News: Camron Slessor)
Silvers acknowledged the camp “probably wasn’t the right move at that time” and apologized to Betts and “any of our playing group who had a negative experience.”
“To have someone like Eddie, who has now left our club, to have a negative experience, saddens me,” he said.
Silvers said the club had new leadership and was moving “in a positive direction”.
Betts acknowledged in the book that a SafeWork SA inquiry had cleared the club of breaching any workplace safety laws, but he wrote: “My view remains that the activities there were inappropriate, counter-productive and culturally unsafe.”
Eddie Betts’s biography, The Boy from Boomerang Crescent, reveals claims about the Crows’ preseason training camp.(ABC News: Ben Pettit)
In a statement made in 2018, the Crows said SafeWork SA’s investigation “found neither the club nor any other person or organisation, breached any work health and safety laws during or in relation to the camp”.
SafeWork SA provided no more information about the investigation.
Crows player Rory Laird, who also attended the camp, described Betts as one of his “close mates” and a “loved figure” at the club.
“I think each individual had different experiences and I actually wasn’t on that part of the camp I guess, so I can’t really comment on the ins and outs of it,” he said.
“But obviously as a former teammate and a friend, you don’t like hearing about that.”
Betts, who moved to Carlton in 2020, wrote of the continuing toll the camp took, saying his “on-field form slumped” at the start of the following season and describing 2018 as “tough.”
“Personally, I felt like I’d lost the drive to play footy, and to be honest I’m not sure I ever had the same energy I did before that camp,” he wrote.
The ABC has contacted Collective Minds for comment.
Five players in the Northern Territory’s top women’s soccer competition have been suspended – and one charged with assault – over a post-match fight that’s been called “unacceptable” and “in contrast to the values inherent in our game” by the sport’s governing body.
Key points:
Several NT Women’s Premier League players were involved in a post-match “physical altercation” in a sports stadium car park
Police investigating the incident have charged an 18-year-old woman with assault
Football NT has banned five players for between 12 weeks and three years and deducted competition points from one club
NT Police has confirmed an 18-year-old player has been charged with assault in relation to the “physical altercation” involving several players on June 26, which broke out in the car park of the Darwin Football Stadium in Marrara after a game.
“A verbal dispute between two players escalated into a physical altercation when a third party intervened,” Acting Sergeant Carol Maxwell said in a statement.
“The altercation was an escalation from the match.”
There were no serious injuries.
Yesterday, Football Northern Territory announced that it had sanctioned two clubs – the Hellenic Athletic Club and Port Darwin Football Club – in relation to the same incident.
In a statement, it said five players across both clubs had been banned from participating in any of the association’s activities for various periods of time.
The Darwin Football Stadium in Marrara is the biggest outdoor stadium in the Northern Territory. (Supplied: Celina Whan / AFLNT)
Those players – which include three from Hellenic and two from Port Darwin – face suspensions ranging from 12 weeks (with four weeks suspended) to three years.
Hellenic has also been stripped of nine points in the 2022 Women’s Premier League competition, and will remain subject to a good behavior bond that will, if breached, see the club lose three points for each offence.
Football Northern Territory chief executive, Bruce Stalder, said everyone involved in the game should be able to participate in a safe environment.
“This behavior will never be tolerated, it is unacceptable, unnecessary and in stark contrast to the values inherent in our game,” he said.
Mr Stalder said as part of the sanctions, the suspended players would be enrolled in a community program designed to improve personal accountability and behavioral flexibility.
The woman charged with assault is due to face court on September 19.
The police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Brisbane Lions boss Chris Fagan has downplayed rumors he could hand over the reins to free agent coaching great Alastair Clarkson at season’s end.
There was some talk last month about a possible handover from Fagan to Clarkson for 2023 as the latter weighs up a returns to the coaches box, having recently met with GWS and North Melbourne about their openings.
The pair have previously worked together closely when Fagan was Hawthorn’s footy boss during its golden era including winning four premierships from 2008-2015 while Clarkson was coach.
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Asked on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 if he’d made “private plans to hand the job over to an old colleague,” Fagan responded with a laugh:“It’s not my job to hand over in the first place … is not the firm answer to that question.”
Fagan said he was unconditionally committed to coaching Brisbane next year.
“I’ve got a contract for next year and hopefully the team can continue to do well and the club is keen to keep me for a while longer,” he said.
“I love coaching the Lions and that’s what I’ll be doing next year unless someone knows something I don’t know.”
It comes after some pundits have put a line through Brisbane’s premiership chances after its second-half fade out loss to Richmond on Sunday that saw the Lions fall down to fifth position on the ladder.
But Fagan insisted the club wasn’t listening to the outside noise as it stays focused on its final three home and away matches against Carlton, St Kilda and Melbourne.
“I understand people want to comment on the game and they’ve got to have strong opinions, because that’s why people want to watch and listen to media,” the Lions boss said.
Clarkson and Fagan at Hawthorn (Picture: Colleen Petch)Source: News Corp Australia
“But we can’t get caught up in that. This time last year we had to win our last three games to finish in the top four and even that wasn’t guaranteed… you just take each win as it comes.
“It’s a really tough and tight competition. If we can get back to our really best form, which we showed a strong glimpse of (against Richmond) in the first half, then there’s no reason why we can’t be really competitive come September.
“We’re not a perfect team, we’ve got strengths and weaknesses like every other team. But when we play at our best we’re pretty hard to beat.”
A key criticism towards Brisbane’s fading flag prospects has been its leaky defence.
Since Round 10 the Lions rank 16th in the competition in the most points conceded, 18th in most points conceded from their defensive half and have been the 15th easiest team to score against once the ball is inside 50.
Fagan said sharpening their defense has been the “main focus” at training over the last six weeks, but also highlighted the club’s inconsistent personnel down back due to injury.
“It’s a work in progress for us, we have had a fair turnover of players particularly in our backline since the Melbourne game (in Round 15),” he said.
“I think we’ve had 14 different players down there play for various reasons, not that defense is just about the backline, but we haven’t had a lot of continuity with our boys.
“Hopefully we can build that back up over the next few weeks and have the same seven or eight players playing there each week.”
